Benjamin Moore, 23, of Bordentown (on left) pictured here serving in the U.S. Army in Afghanistan. Moore was killed there Wednesday by a road-side bomb.

U.S. Army Private First Class Benjamin Moore of Bordentown died while serving in Afghanistan.

Official information from the Pentagon has yet to be released, but friends and family are publicly mourning the loss of the 23-year-old, and the family has been officially notified by the Army.

Moore was reportedly killed Wednesday by a roadside bomb as he rode in a vehicle somewhere in Afghanistan.

Stateside, his 693rd Sapper Engineering Co. was out of Fort Drum, and back home in Bordentown, he was a member of the Hope Hose Humane Company No. 1 -- volunteer fire, first aid and rescue.

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"We do all three," said Chief Pete Sedor. "Ben's going to be missed. He was the life of the firehouse."

Vince "Bud" Torpey Jr., an official with the company, said Moore joined up at the age of 16 as a junior member.

"He was a force of exuberance, laughter and kindness like no other," Torpey said. "He was there to help anyone at anytime."

Torpey said Moore was deeply affected by the attacks on 9/11, even though he was only 13 at the time.

"He knew at that young age, that he had to do something," Torpey said. "To get involved, to help his country and his fellow man."

Torpey said Moore was both a firefighter and an EMT.

"He gave of himself to all," Torpey said. "He lost his life with five other soldiers, all part of his extended family. And we as a city, as a state, and as a nation have lost not only Ben, but five others just like him."

Torpey said that Moore's family has asked media outlets to seek comments from his friends at the fire company at this time, as they deal with their grief privately.

A post written months ago by Moore's mother, Amy Moore, on the Hope Hose-Humane Company's Facebook page seemed to tell just how much his membership in the fire company meant to him.

"I bet everyone over there at HHH miss my Benny and I bet Benny misses HHH," Moore's mother wrote in July of last year, after her son went to fight overseas. "I can remember when he was just a young teenager he probably drove all you guys crazy.

"Thank you for giving my Benny a direction to go in when he was younger. Now look at the lug they actually trust him with a gun and a truck."

Indeed, the folks at Hope Hose Humane, had trouble talking about the young man who had graced their presence with laughter during his seven years there, and now suddenly was gone.

As recently as 11 days ago, Ben was back home on leave.

"He was here for about two weeks over Christmas and New Years," said Chief Sedor. "He spent time at the firehouse, like he always did -- he took fire calls and ambulance calls while he was here."

You always read the hero stories about firefighters, so Sedor was asked if Ben Moore had ever saved a life.

"No," he said. "He saved a lot of -- how do I put this?-- he saved a lot of depression.

"Whenever Ben was around, everybody was laughing and smiling. It's true. Never a dull moment when Ben was around. He made you smile. You could come in madder than a hornet. When you left there, you were laughing.

"He was a real people person: Knew how to get under your skin and make you laugh and change you around. He was a good guy. Nothing could get him down."

Fire Capt. Ken Mortello is a veteran firefighter who helped teach and mold Ben the junior fightfighter, and tried to get him to go in the correct direction.

"He took up firefighting to serve his community," Mortello said simply. (Mortello, married and the father of two children, understands; not only does he volunteer at Hope Hose Humane, but he is a paid career fire captain at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst.

But why did Ben join the Army?

"He joined the military to, once again, I'm going to use this phrase: To serve his community. He liked helping people," he said.

"And after 9-1-1, there have been a lot of people that have been interested in joining the military, and also, with how the economy is, a lot of people are looking for jobs," Mortello said. "In this way, he could serve both purposes. He could make himself a living, and could serve his community."

Ben Moore drew the long (or short?) straw that allowed him to take a Christmas break to see his family, said Ken Mortello.

"It was a Christmas treat for his Mom, a big present for his Mom, that she got to see him around Christmas."

And then snowstorms delayed the planes back to Afghanistan until he finally got a plane out on Jan. 2.

"At this point," Ken said sorrowfully, "I believe a lot of us would have held him down and not let him go back. But, he needed to do his job.

" ... He was very well-liked and will sorely be missed. If there was some way we could have changed it, we would have tried to hold onto him as long as we could."